Restoration of the iconic Union Trust building at 705 Olive Street in St. Louis is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2018. The 15-story building, designed by legendary architect Louis Sullivan, was built in 1892 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the original building's character and details will be maintained in the renovations currently underway.

BSI is working with Restoration St. Louis and Checkmate Design to transform the historic structure into Hotel Saint Louis, a Marriott Autograph boutique hotel that will have 140 rooms. The top three floors are being converted into residential apartments (including a rooftop penthouse). There are also plans for a rooftop pool and a rooftop restaurant with a bar called Form, in homage to Sullivan's "form follows function."

Hotel Saint Louis will have many additional amenities, including a ballroom, a spa and a street-level restaurant. BSI has successfully completed a number of projects for Restoration St. Louis, including Hotel Blackhawk and the ML Parker Building (both in Davenport, Iowa). Hotel Blackhawk was named the "Most Beautiful Hotel in Iowa" by Architectural Digest in 2017.

For this project, BSI's team includes Project Executive Jim Shaughnessy, Senior Project Manager Steve Schrage, Project Engineer Peter Boudoures and Superintendent Haus Truelove. Truelove worked on Hotel Blackhawk and Boudoures has the distinct honor of helping restore the Union Trust building where his grandfather once had his law offices.

In a recent edition of St. Louis Construction News Review, Sr. Project Manager Steve Schrage discussed how impressive the Union Trust building remains even after all of these years, "I continue to be amazed at the detailing work that exists in these classic buildings," he said. "We're cleaning the building, tuck pointing it, making masonry repairs and replacing the windows. Other than that, structurally it is in great shape," he added.

BSI is honored to be part of this project to revitalize the historically significant Union Trust building and to convert it into a luxurious boutique hotel for Restoration St. Louis.